


Protocol

by The_Sickfic_Sideblog



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Fever, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 18:23:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9915248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sickfic_Sideblog/pseuds/The_Sickfic_Sideblog
Summary: Matt is given an impossible task.





	

It was dark in the holding cells and seemed to be getting darker as the days passed by. Matt Holt assumed that after pupil adjustment, the cells would look brighter, or at least a normal level of brightness. But there was something odd about the Galra cells that made them look increasingly darker, but never reaching the point of pitch blackness. It was like Shepherd's Tone for the eye.

He voiced these thoughts to his crewmate and fellow captor, Shiro. He knew Shiro didn't care about the theoretical Shepherd’s Tone for the eye, but keeping his own mind working passed the time and kept him sane. Plus, Shiro made very convincing response sounds. ~

Matt wasn't sure how long they'd been there. He tried to keep track of the days, but there was no indication from a sun. He tried to keep track of every time he was fed, but it became irregular. Shiro busied himself with exercises, maintaining a wonderful form (as usual), but Matt didn't. He wasn't brought on the Kerberos Mission for heavy lifting, although each astronaut had to be in peak physical condition. No, he was brought on because of his smarts, just like Sam.

So instead of being left to his body, he was left to his thoughts. He couldn’t tell how much time passed before the cell next to him was unlocked.

“Come peacefully with us, and there won’t be any trouble.” One of the purple guards said. Shiro looked to Matt before making a decision. Would whatever they were leading him to be better than the cell? Or would it most definitely be worse?

Matt liked to think it was a 50/50 chance, but with “better” and “worse” being subjective and their situation being entirely unpredictable, there was no way to calculate the odds. Normally, he would take the time to rationally think it out. But with the armed guards waiting, he simply nodded and prayed he didn’t send Shiro to his death.

Shiro nodded back and did as the guards asked. They locked the cell behind them and took him away, leaving Matt to his own thoughts once again.

How long had it been since he’d been on the ship? It must’ve been a week, right? Maybe more? How long since he’d been on Earth? That was even harder to rationalize. How long since he’d seen his mother and sister? Too long. How much time had passed since Shiro was taken away? The lack of an answer was what scared him the most.

With every guard pass, Matt looked up expecting to see his crewmate. It got to the point where he was hoping to see him dead or alive - he just wanted to know what happened to him. Of course, he wanted Shiro to be alive. But he’d rather know of his death than to have it be a mystery for much longer.

The moment Matt stopped looking up was the moment the guards unlocked his door. Shiro was lazily thrown into the cell, collapsing weakly to the ground with a groan. Blood splattered where he landed and started to leak on the cell floor.

“If he lives, you live,” one of the guards muttered and slammed the door close.

Matt was frozen until the guards left, not daring to make a single movement out of line. Once the guards were out of earshot, he scrambled over to his crewmate.

“Shiro? What did they do, what’s going on?”

He was only able to groan in response. Matt rolled him onto his back and tried to figure out what was wrong. He seemed alright - he wasn’t deformed or too badly bloody? He was just clutching his bicep, what was the matter with-

_ Oh. _

Below the blood leaking out of Shiro’s left fingers, a metal structure protruded from his arm. Matt could only follow with his eyes in horror as the mechanical arm twitched and spasmed. 

Matt’s mind raced. He knew how to do this, he trained for this. There was a protocol for this, he knew there was,  _ why couldn’t he remember the protocol? _

His mind was failing him. The only thing he could rely on was starting to become faulty. Panic began to gather in his stomach. Why couldn’t he remember the protocol?

_ It wouldn’t matter,  _ he thought,  _ There’s nothing I can work with in here. He’s gonna die and I’m gonna die and I’ll never get to go back to Earth and I’ll never see Katie again and- _

Something snapped in Matt’s brain. His thoughts were no longer scattered and frantic. There was no more emotion flooding his senses. All the sentiment was pushed to the back of his mind to make way for one command code.  _ Stop the bleeding. _

Matt stripped off his top layer and wrapped it around Shiro’s bicep. It was too risky to tourniquet, so he used it to try to stop the flow of blood. He had no idea what the extent the injury was, even if it was considered an injury in the first place. There were so many unknowns about the arm, about their purple captors, about the situation, that he promised he would only focus on what he  _ did  _ know and what he  _ could  _ do.  _ Stop the bleeding. _

Under his squeezing hands, Matt felt the division between metal and flesh mixed with warm and sticky blood. He was normally a squeamish person, especially with this amount of blood, but the commands were still overtaking his brain.

“Shiro, talk to me. What did they do?”

He really didn’t want to know. He just wanted Shiro to be responsive.

“There...there was this alien woman....sh-she put me in a lab or something...” Shiro paused to breathe heavily, taking in gulps of oxygen, “...cut off my arm, put this on....”

Matt wasn’t entirely listening as Shiro rambled on. He got all the information he needed. He removed the bloodied shirt and found that the bleeding had finally slowed down. It wasn’t completely clotted, but it was an improvement. Matt could breathe. He pulled Shiro’s head and shoulders up onto his lap to elevate the arm, but also to bring some physical comfort to the both of them.

The improvement didn’t last long. After a few hours (at least, that’s what it felt like), Shiro stopped bleeding completely, but he had gone pale. He’d been shaking ever since he was thrown in the cell, but there was something different now. It wasn’t physical trauma anymore. It was a lack of heat.

Matt was still in overdrive, “What’s the matter?”

“It g-got cold in here...”

It hadn’t. The temperature felt the same as it had for their entire stay. In fact, maybe it’d gotten a little warmer. Matt put the back of his hand on Shiro’s forehead, then his cheek, then his forehead again. It was too warm for comfort.

More command codes shot through Matt’s brain.  _ Reduce the fever. He’s in shock.  _ He looked around the room as if there would be something new at his disposal. There was nothing but the empty cell.

_ His body’s rejecting the arm. We have to get him to a real doctor, or something, or neither of us are gonna make it out of this. _

Without being able to follow the orders in his mind, fear started to creep back. He swallowed hard, not being able to take his eyes from Shiro’s arm. His fingers still twitched. It looked like something he would’ve gotten on Earth, but there was a certain... _ aura  _ about it that made Matt uneasy. There was something very different about the arm.

Eventually, they were given their regulated meals of unfamiliar food. At least water was the same. With new materials in the room, Matt’s mind began to work again. He took off his long-sleeved shirt and very carefully soaked it in his water, careful not to waste a single drop. Shiro needed it more than he did. He pressed the makeshift washcloth against Shiro’s head and watched as the bigger man relaxed. The corner of Matt’s mouth turned up into a smile. Maybe this would work.

“Shiro, you need to drink something. Here, they brought us water.”

Shiro weakly lifted his left hand. There was a coordination struggle with his non-dominant hand, but he was able to get a few sips of water in. Matt took the glass back.

A new thought-order popped up.  _ Don’t let him fall asleep. _

Matt physically looked up. Was that part of the protocol? How long was it supposed to apply? He’d been right so far, maybe this was just his training coming back to him. But Shiro’s eyes were already shut, and his breathing started to slow into a slumber.

"Shiro? Shiro, you gotta stay awake! Stay with me!"

"'M so tired..."

"I know, but you gotta stay awake. You stay awake long enough, we get to go back to Earth, okay?"

Shiro weakly nodded. His eyes still threatened to close, but he fought hard to keep them open. Matt wasn’t sure if it was true or not - if they could go back to Earth  _ ever.  _ But if that was the motivation Shiro needed, he was willing to roll with it.

“The guards, they also said you need to drink water if you want to go back to Earth.”

Shiro held up his hand for the water glass again. As Matt watched him take more sips, he noticed a strange strand of white coming from Shiro’s bangs. He ran his fingers along it, and the emotions crashed over him once more. He didn’t think it was that bad. He thought he was doing a good job. He even got Shiro to drink and started reducing the fever.

_ I’ll get us out of here, Shiro...I promise...  _ Matt thought,  _ I just have to follow the protocol. _


End file.
